Machine for attaching fabric to boxes.



wr|r| m@ PATENTBD MAY 14, 1907. W. KAHLE- MACHINE FOR ATTAGHINGPABRIG To BOXES.

.APPLICATION FILED JULYZtl 1906.A

Mfg, fw@

1H: NoRms PsfERs co., wAsnlNcroN. D. c.

I/VILLIAM KAHLE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING FABRIC TO BOXS.

Specification of Letters' Patent.

Patented May 14, 1907.

'Application flied my 25. 1906. serial No. 327,625.

T0 LZZ 'u1/1,0m, t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM KAHLE, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Attaching Fabric to Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for covering boxes with fabric and is particularly adapted to covering fancy jewelry boxes with velvet, plush and the like.

The machine of this invention is adapted to apply adhesive material to the inner face of a piece of fabric, then form said fabric around the base of a jewelry box cover or bottom, next force said base upon the side flange of said box, and finally leave the different parts of the machine in position so that the covered box may be easily removed therefrom.

The object of the invention is to provide a machine of the character set forth which shall be simple, cheap and durable in its construction and operation, so that fabric may be quickly and neatly applied to box covers or bottoms by inexperienced. help.

The machine'is further so constructed that different sizes and shapes of boxes may be covered thereon without substantial change in the mechanism of the machine.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and particularly pointed out in the claims thereof.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved box covering machine, certain portions of the mechanism being shown in a secondary position in dotted lines, the glue receptacle being shown broken away and in section. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, partly broken away and shown in section. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the fabric holder. Fig. 4 is a section, partly in elevation, taken on line A-A of Fig. 3, with the box holder shown in section thereabove. Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are vertical detail sections, partly broken away and shown in elevation, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3, showing the fabric support and box holder in different positions illustrating the manner in which said parts operate in covering the box. Fig. 9 is a plan `view of a portion of a rotary ring and the plate upon which it is supported, the finger which rotates said ring being shown in section innconnection therewith. Fig. 10 is a side elevation of said parts, showing also a portion of a plate to which said finger is fastened, both of said plates being broken away to save space in the drawings. Fig. 11 is a detail view showing portions of two plates and illustrating the operation of the releasing of pins which regulate the position of the folder plates.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In the drawings, 8 is the frame of the machine, 9 is the fabric holder, 10 is a yielding box holder and 11 a glue receptacle. The fabric holder consists of two plates 12` and 13, substantially cylindrical in form, said plates being fastened rigidly together by means of screws 14, 14 (Fig. 3.) A sheet or pad of elastic material 15 is clamped between the plates 12 and 13 and extends across a recess 16 formed in the upper face of the fabric holder 9. An elastic cushion 17 is located in the recess 16 andis clamped in position therein by means of a screw-threaded plug 18. In the upper face of the plate 12 is formed a plurality of ways 19, 19. In these ways a plurality of folders 20, 20 are adapted to slide longitudinally thereof toward and away from the center of the recess 16. These folders each consist of a right angled portion 21 having a right angled recess 22 in its upper face and a shank portion 23 which is constructed to slide in said ways 19 upon the upper faceof the holder plate 12. The right angled recessed portions 22 are adapted to receive the rectangular portion of fabric which is to form the covering of the top or bottom of a box. Each of the folders 2O is moved toward the center of the recess 16 by a spring 24, the free end of which bears against a pin 25 fast to the shank portion 23, the other end of said spring being coiled about a pin 26 fast to the upper plate 12, the fixed end of said spring bearing against another pin 27, also fast to the plate 12 and projecting upwardly therefrom. (See Fig. 3.)

The fabric 28, which is used to cover the bottom or top of the jewelry box is held in the right angled recessed portion 22 preparatory to being folded over the upper edge` of said box cover by four fingers 29, 29. One

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finger is provided for each of the right an- Y gled folding portions 21 and each of said fingers is fastened to a vertical standard 30, adapted to slide longitudinally thereof in the plates 12 and 13. Said standards 30 are supported upon screws 31 which have screw- IIO threaded engagement with a plate 32, which is rigidly fastened to a boss 33 integral with the frame 8 of the machine. When it is desired to adjust the standards 30 and fingers 29 vertically to move said fingers farther away from or nearer to the folder slides 20, it may be done by means of the screws 31, 31, so that the fingers 29 may be adjusted with great nicety in order to suit varying thicknesses of fabric. Each of the standards 30 is encircled by a spring 34, the upper end of which bears against the under side of the plate l2, the lower end of said spring bearing against a shoulder formed by the enlarged lower portion of the standard 30.

It will be seen that the plates 12 and 13 are free to slide up and down upon the standards 30, said plates being held upwardly by the springs 34. The fabric holder, as a whole, is prevented from rotating by means of guide pins 35 (Fig. 3) which are fastened to the plate 1 3 andproj ect downwardly therefrom through the plate 32. The standards 30 are suitably splined to the plate 13 to prevent the same from rotating with relation to said plate.

As hereinbefore set forth, the folders 20 are moved toward each other and toward the center of the recess 16 by the springs 24. They are moved away from each other by pins 36, one of said pins 36 being provided for each of the folder slides 20. Each of the pins 36 is beveled at 37, near the top thereof,

. and is adapted to slide verticallyin the plates 12 and 13. Said pins 36 are supported by screws 33 having engagement with a ring 39 journaled to rotate upon the plate 32. Said ring has a pin 40 fast thereto and projecting radially outward therefrom, said pin being held, by a spring 41, in contact with an inclined face 42 formed upon the lower end of a plate 43 fast to the plate 13. A spring 44 eneircles each of the pins 36 and holds said pins against the upper end of the screws 33. The pins 36 are suitably splined to the plate 12 to prevent the same from rotating relatively thereto. The upper end of each of the pins 36 projects through a slot 45 formed in the shank portion 23 of its respective folder 20, the inclined face 37 upon said pin normally resting against the correspondingly inclined face formed in said shank at the outer `enol of said slot.

rlhe plug 18 is rotatably supported upon a vertical slide 46, preferably cylindrical in cross section, and arranged to slide in the frame 3. Said slide 46 has a stud 47 fast thereto and projecting through a slot 4S lformed in the frame S, Fig. 1. A friction roll 49 is j ournaled upon said stud and is located beneath and adjacent to an eccentric disk 50 fast to a shaft 51 journaled to rotate in the bracket 52 fast to the frame S. The shaft 51 is rotated by an arm 53 which may be actuated-either by hand or by connection to a treadle.

The glue is contained in a recejitacle. 1l which is fastened to the frame 3 (Fig. 1) and consists of a sheet metal box with. a perforated bottoni 55 having pads 56 and 57 `lixed to the top and bottom thereof, respectively. Glue or any suitable adhesive material soaks through the pads 56 and 57 and is removed from the lower face of the pad 57 by a gluing pad 58 which carries the glue to the fabric la and applies it to the upper face thereof by means of the following described mechanism. The pad 5S is fastened to a carrier 59 which is fastened, in turn, to a shaft 66 journaled to rotate upon the outer end of a rockerframe 61. rfhe rocker -franie 61 consists of two arms 62, 62l joined together by a stay rod 63 and fastened to a rockershaft 64 journaled to rock in bearings formed in the frame S and in a bracket 65 fast to said frame. Upon the outer end of the bracket 65 is formed a can] surface 66 which serves to guide a rotary cam disk 67 fast to the shaft 66. Said cam disk has a slot 63 provided therein adapted to engage a stud 69 fast to the bracket 65. A link 76 is pivotally connected at its lower end at 7l to the arm 62. Said link is provided at its upper4 end with a slot 72 tl'uough which projects a pin 73 fast to a rocker-arm 74. The rocker-arm 74 is fastened to a rock-shaft 75 journaled to rotate in the frame of the ma* chine and has a handle 76 integral therewith. A spring 77 is fastened at its upper end to the pin 73 and at its lower end to a pin 78 l'ast to the link 70.

The reciprocatory box holder il() consists of a holder 79 adapted tio receive and hold the flange 30 of the box and a holder Hl adapted to receive and hold the base or top 82 of the box. The holder 79 is detachably fastened to a sleeve $3 adapted to slide longitudinally thereof in the franic 3 and having a rack 34 formed thereon which meshes into a segment gear 85 fast to the shaft 75. 'lhe holder 81 is detachably fastened to a rod 36 which is adapted to slide longitudinally ol' the sleeve S3 and has a collar 87 fast to the top thereof, the lower end of said rod being surrounded by a spiral spring 3S, one end of which bears against the upper face of the holder 31, the other end bearing against the inner end of a recess 89 formed. in the lower end of the sleeve Having thus specifically described my invention, l will now proceed to describe the general operation of the saine.

Assuming the parts to be .in the position illustrated Iin Fig. 4, the flange $6 of the box is first covered with plush, velvet, or whatever fabric may be desired and placed upon f the holder 79. The top or bottoni of the box 32, as the case may be, is then slipped upon the holder S1. lt will be understoml that. the pressure of the -fingers 29 upon the fabric 28 must be adjusted. to conform with the.

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different thicknesses and qualities of material, so that said fingers may have an equal pressure upon each of the four corners of the piece of fabric, and also so that said pressure may be neither too slight nor too great. This pressure is regulated by means of the screws 31, 31, which can be turned to raise orvlower the standards 30 upon which the iingers`29 are fastened, and thus adjust the lower ends of the ngers 29 to a nicety with relation to the upper face of the recessed portion 22 in the folder slides 20. Still assuming the parts to be in the position illustrated in Fig. 4, it being understood that the lower ends of the fingers 29 are slightly above the upper face 'of the recessed portion 22 of the folders 20, the operator places the fabric 28 in said recessed portions of the folders, with the corners thereof beneath said fingers 29, 29. He' then rocks the arm 53 upwardly, thus rocking the shaft 51 and eccentric disk 50 and allowing-the friction roll 49, together with the stud 47 and slide 46 to be moved upwardly by the springs 34, thus at the same time moving the fabric holder plates 12 and 13 upwardly until the fabric 28 is pressed against the lower ends of.

the fingers 29. The fabric is now in position to have glue applied thereto. The gluing ad at this particular time is in the position illustrated in dotted lines (Fig. 1) and in contact with the pad 57 receiving at this time a new supply of glue to be applied to the upper surface of the fabric 28 prior to the attachment of said fabric to the top of the box. The operator now rocks the handle 76 in the direction of the arrow a (Fig. 1), moving the link downwardly and rocking the rockerframe 61, together with the rock-shaft 64, to the position illustrated in Fig. 1, thus bringing the pad 58 into contact with the upper surface of the fabric 28 held upon the fabric holder 9. As the carrier frame 61 rocks, as hereinbefore described, the cam disk 67 will slide downwardly in contact with the cam surface 66 until the pin 69 enters the groove 68, and when said pin 69 bottoms in the groove 68, then the cam disk will be rotated a half turn, and upon a further downward movement of the rocker frame 61, said cam disk will be disengaged from the pin 69 and brought to the position illustrated in full lines (Fig. 1), thus bringing the gluing pad 58 into contact with the upper surface of the fabric 28. The holder 10 has, during this last described operation of the gluing pad, moved .upwardly from the position indicated in Fig. 4 to that indicated in Fig. 1. The operator now reverses the motion of the handle 76, moving the same in the opposite direction to that of the arrow a (Fig. 1) which moves the gluing pad 58 and the cam disk 67 from the position illustrated in full lines (Fig. 1) to that illustrated in dotted lines in said figure, thus leaving the fabric uncovered, so

that the box can be applied thereto, as will now be described.

The box holder 10 is moved downwardly by a forward movement of the handle 76 which operates the segment gear 85, and thus v throu h the rack 84 moves the box holder as a who e downwardly. The top 82 of the box is thus brought into contact with the glued surface of the fabric 28just as theparts are about in the position illustrated in Fig. 5. The springs 34 are adjusted to a proper strength and resiliency to hold the fabric sufficiently so that it may be wiped around the from the position illustrated in Fig. 5 toward box cover as the same is pushed downwardly the position illustrated in Fig. 6, and as the boxholder is moved downwardly from the position illustrated in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 6, when a certain predetermined amount of pull upon the fabric is exerted, the fabric, as a whole, will be pushed down, slightly overcoming, to a certain extent, the action of the s rinngs 34 and allowing the fabric to slip out iiiom beneath the fingers 29. Said fingers 29 thus simultaneously release their hold upon the fabric 28, which by this time has been wrapped or folded over the under face of the box cover 82. A further movement of the box holder downwardly stretches the elastic sheet 15 and brings the parts into the position illustrated in Fig. 6, the fabric being pressed a ainst the elastic cushion 17 at the bottom o the recess 16 and wiped up around the edges of the box top, as illustrated in said Fig. 6. A still further downward movement of the box holder 10 causes the fabric holder to descend, overcoming the action of the springs 34, the plates 12 and 13 composing said fabric holder moving downwardly and carrying the plate 43 downwardly with them. The inclined surface 42 upon the plate 43 rotates the ring 39 slightly in the direction of the arrow b (Fig. 9 and 11). will be noted, by reference to Fig. 11, that the bottom surface of each of the pins 36 is beveled, so that as said plate 43 is rotated in the direction of the arrow?) (Figs. 9 and 11) the screw 38, passing to the left in said Fig. 11 allows the pin 36 to descend slightly and thus allows the folder slide 20 to move toward the center of the recess 16 by reason of the bevel face 37 upon the upper end of the pin descending and allowing the corresponding bevel face at the end of the slot 45 to move toward the left (Fig. 6), and thus causing the folders to move inwardly toward the dierent corners of the box cover, this movement resulting in the folding of the fabric over the upper edge of the box cover, as illustrated in Fig. 7. The lower surface ofthe screw-threaded plug 18 now rests upon the boss or projection formed upon the top of the plate 32, and a further downward movement of the box cover and its holder 81 is thus prevented. A still further downward move- IOS IIO

ment, however, of the iiange holder 79 compresses the spring 88 and forces the flange 80 downwardly into the box top S2, said fiange being recessed around its lower edge, at 90, in order to receive the edge of the box top. The box top having now been covered with fabric and attached to the Harige, as illustrated in Fig. S, the operator reverses the movement of the handle 76, moving the same toward the back of the machine, thus moving the box holder upwardly, and when said box holder has been retracted for a portion of its movement, or to the position illustrated in Fig. 4, the operator inserts a new piece of fabric beneath the fingers 29 and the operation is repeated. 1

During the upward movement of the box holder from the position illustrated in Fig. 7 to that illustrated in Fig. l, the holder 81 will be separated from the holder 79 by the spring 8S, and the box top with its Harige attached thereto and covered is then easily removed from the holder 81 by the operator when the parts are substantially in the position illustrated in Fig. L The slot 72 in the link allows the stud 73 to play therein during the latter part of the downward movement of the box holder without imparting any movement to the glue carrying pad or to the rocker frame 6l, and also allows the box holder to be withdrawn for about one-half of its upward movement before the glue carrying pad is carried downwardly to apply glue to the newly inserted piece of fabric 2S with which the next box is to be covered. As the holders 79 and 81 and the fabric holder 9 are detachable from the machine, it will be seen that boxes of different sizes and shapes may be covered without change in the actuating mechanism of said fabric holder and box holder, by having different sized holder plates 79 and 81.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire by Letters Patent to secure is:

l. In a machine for attaching fabric to boxes, a fabric holder comprising in its construction a plate provided with a recess in its upper face, a sheet of elastic material extending across said recess, and a plurality of folders slidable toward and away from the center of said recess, each. of said folders having a right angled recess in its upper face adapted to receive a piece of fabric, said folders adapted to fold said fabric over the edges of a box located in said first named recess.

2. In a machine for attaching fabric to boxes, a fabric holder comprising in its construction a plate provided with a recess in its upper face, a sheet of elastic material extending across said recess, and a plurality of folders slidable toward and away from the center of said recess, each of said folders consisting of a right angled portion having a right angled recess in its upper face adapted to receive a piece of fabric and a shank portion constructed to slide in ways upon the upper face of said liolder plate.

3. In a machine for attaching fabric to boxes, a fabric holder comprising in its construction a plate provided with a recess in its upper face, a sheet of elastic material extending across said recess, and a plurality of folders slidable toward and away from the center of said recess, springs acting to move said folders toward each other, and means lo move them away from each other,

4. In a machine for attaching fabric to boxes, a fabric holder comprising in its construction a plate provided with a recess in its upper face, a sheet of elastic material extending across said recess, and a plurality of folders slidable toward and away from the center of said recess, and means to impart a vertical reciprocatory movement to said holder.

5. ln a machine for attaching fabric to boxes, a fabric holder comprising in its con.- struction a plate provided with. a recess in its upper face, a sheet of elastic material extending across said recess, and a plu ality of folders slidable toward and away from the center of said recess, and a plurality of lin gers adapt ed to hold said fabric against said folders.

6. In a machine for attaching fabric to boxes a fabric holder comprising in its construction a plate provided with a recess in its upper face, a sheet of elastic material extending across said recess, and. a plurality of folders slidable toward and away from the eenter of said recess, a plurality of fingers adapted to hohl said fabric against said folders, and means to move said fabric holder toward and away from said fingers.

7. In a machine for attaching fabric lo boxes, a fabric holder comprising inI iis construction a plate provided with a recess in iis upper face, a sheet of elastic material extending across said recess, and a plurality of fehlers slidable toward and away from the center of said recess, a plurality of fingers adapted to hold said fabric against said folders, and means to adjust said fingers toward and away from said folders.

S. ln a machine for attaching fabric to boxes, a fabric holder comprising in its construction a plate provided with a recess in iis upper face, a sheet of elastic material extending across said recess, and a plurality of folders slidable toward and away vfrom the center of said recess, springs acting to move said folders toward each other, and a plurality of slidable pins adapted to engage said folders and move them away from cach other.

9. ln a machine for attaching fabric to boxes, a fabric holder comprisinglin its construction a plate provided with a recess in its upper face, a sheet of elastic material extending across said recess, and a plurality of folders slidable toward and away from the center of said recess, springs acting to move said TOO IIO

folders toward each other, a plurality of slid* my hand in presence of two subscribing witable pins, each of said pins having an nnesses. olined face adapted to engage its respective folder and move it away from the other fold- WILLIAM KAHLE' 5 ers7 and means to adjust said pins toward Witnesses and away from said folders. CHARLES S. GrooDINer7 In testimony whereof I have hereunto set ANNIE J. DAILEY. 

